Amazing Grace

Here at BBC Learning English dot com, we're running a short season of
　　th
　　programmes marking the 200  anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.
　　This significant anniversary hasn't been ignored by Hollywood either. A new
　　film, Amazing Grace, tells the story of the campaign in the British parliament
　　for an end to the slave trade. It stars Ioan Gruffudd as William Wilberforce, the
　　British politician who is traditionally seen as largely responsible for stopping
　　the slave trade.
　　I say 'traditionally' because Wilberforce's role in the campaign for abolition is
　　now quite controversial – some historians say that by always looking at British
　　politicians, we ignore the actions of the slaves themselves.
　　So, is it OK for Amazing Grace to focus on white politicians, or should it pay
　　more attention to the lives of the Black slaves?
　　Let's listen now to the film critic Mark Kermode. As you listen, try to answer
　　this question: How is the story in Amazing Grace told?
　　Mark:  It's not a story told from the perspective of the slaves, it's told from the
　　perspectives of the white Englishmen, who are debating the nature of slavery.
　　William:    Listen again.
　　Mark:  It's not a story told from the perspective of the slaves, it's told from the
　　perspectives of the white Englishmen, who are debating the nature of slavery.
　　William:    Mark says that Amazing Grace is told from the perspective of white
　　Englishmen and not slaves. Perspective – this generally means a way of
　　thinking or a general view on life. We use it for expressing our opinions about
　　things. For example, you might say, 'From my perspective, learning English is
　　a very important skill' – this means it is your opinion, your view of the issue.
　　Note the use of 'from'. 'From your perspective', 'from my perspective', 'from
　　a scientific perspective', 'from a historical perspective'.
　　Now, if you want to say what the issue is that you're talking about, you need to
　　say 'on'. For example, 'His perspective on international affairs is really
　　interesting.'
　　When we talk about perspective in films or books, we're talking about the view
　　on life of the characters in the film – their opinions, experiences and feelings.
　　Mark Kermode says that story of Amazing Grace is told from the perspective
　　of white Englishmen, not slaves. So it's their opinions and experiences which
　　are highlighted in the film.
　　Let's listen to Mark again – this time, see if you can hear a word which means
　　the same as 'perspective':
　　Mark:  It's very easy to criticise a movie for what it isn't, and there's a big thing at the
　　moment about criticising movies about, you know, issues movies, that are seen
　　from the viewpoint of, you know, of white men – another example would be
　　Blood Diamond, for example.
　　William:  'Viewpoint' means the same as 'perspective' and we use it in much the same
　　way.
　　'Viewpoint' is a shortened form of a very common phrase, 'point of view'.
　　Like 'perspective' and 'viewpoint', we use 'point of view' to talk about the
　　experiences of characters in books and films, and also to express opinions. For
　　example, you can talk about 'a feminist point of view' or 'a scientific point of
　　view' as well as your own point of view!